The most expensive and bizarre things to ever be sold on eBay

By Bexx Wilton, Apr 26, 2018

When eBay first started online people were perhaps a little skeptical about how authentic the auctions were, but after a while, eBay became a huge online community of sellers and buyers. Soon almost anyone who had access to the internet was bidding on all kinds of crazy items in the hope of finding a real bargain. The demand for buying stuff online, and on eBay particularly, led to the boom of the online retailer. People realized they could make a living by selling goods this way and it wasn’t long before pretty much all major retailers were online.

While many used eBay to buy items they might want or need, some items were being sold that raised many eyebrows as they were either a little bit strange or crazily expensive. People believed you could buy and sell anything on eBay and these items certainly put that theory to the test.

Doomsday house

If you haven’t already turned your basement into your emergency fallout bunker, then there is still time (hopefully). One eBay user decided they would rather rely on someone else’s building skills to get them through until the end of time so found the listing for this doomsday house. The bunker used to be a missile silo base but was converted into a house with the ultimate safety bunker below. Realtors put the house up for auction on eBay, and it sold for $2.1 million.

Broken laser pointer

This is actually the very first item ever sold on eBay. It is a broken laser pointer that was listed as a test by one of the programmers working on the software. People found it and started bidding on the item that the programmer was planning on throwing away once they had finished with the tests they were running. Bids kept coming in, and it eventually sold for $14.83 to a laser pointer collector who didn’t care that it was broken.

Sprouts

Brussel sprouts are a love them or hate them food, and one British man didn’t love his. Instead of eating and finishing them, he decided to sell his unwanted vegetables on eBay. The sprouts fetched a fee of $150, which the seller donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Sprouts are a smelly food at the best of times, but the seller put as a note to bidders that they come from a home with pets and smokers so they shouldn’t expect them to smell nice on arrival.

Ghost in a jar

Once it became known that people were willing to buy pretty much anything, there were soon a host of crazy listings on eBay. One of the most unusual has to be the ghost in a jar. Perhaps it was near Halloween, and people wanted to scare their friends with this ghoulish jar. Bids reached an incredible $55,000, although the winning bidder never paid. The seller left a disclaimer that they couldn’t be held responsible if the buyer let the ghost out and it started wreaking havoc.

Ad space

A woman from Salt Lake City, Utah, offered her forehead to would-be advertisers. She was willing to allow any advertisers to tattoo their advert on her skin for the minimum price of $10,000. Some might think she sold herself a bit short because it wasn’t long before an online casino met the minimum offer price. The woman had the website goldenpalace.com inked onto her face even though the tattoo artist reportedly did their best to talk her out of getting it done.

Unassembled snowman

This item is for those who don’t like to have their purchases arrive readymade. Hoping to cash in on someone’s goodwill, the lister put a minimum price of $10 million on the widely available resource. The money that would be raised was going to go to a local hospice, and it was an ambitious attempt at raising money for a good cause. Unfortunately the price was a little high for just some snow so this particular item didn’t manage to reach the minimum bid price.

Private jet

The saying goes that pretty much anything is available on eBay and internet shoppers with enough cash could have bought their very own private jet. In 2001 this Gulfstream II became the most expensive item sold at the time, it went for $4.9 million. There have been some private jets on eBay that belonged to some of the world’s richest and most famous including the jets of John Travolta and assassinated President, John F. Kennedy.

French toast

This wasn’t just any old French toast though, this was Justin Timberlake’s leftover French toast. Justin Timberlake didn’t finish his breakfast one day and someone had the wherewithal to go and retrieve it before it ended up in the trash for good. The partially eaten toast sold for $1,025 in 2000, reportedly a super keen 19-year-old fan bought the toast as a keepsake. We wonder if the owner of the toast ever ate it or if it is still sitting in someone’s house growing moldier by the day.

Home run ball

Barry Bonds is a legend in the sport of baseball, he made over 700 home runs during his professional career. Lots of those home run balls have ended up going to auction, one fetched a huge $220,100 back in 2006. The most expensive home run ball hit by Barry Bonds went for an astronomical $750,000. That ball must have pride of place in someone’s collection of sports memorabilia as they paid a colossal fee for it.

Ferrari Enzo

One of the rarest cars that motorheads collect is the Ferrari Enzo. There were only 399 of the Italian supercars ever made and the prices of the remaining vehicles just keep soaring. Back in 2004 a Ferrari Enzo sold for a high price of $1 million. Guttingly the second place bidder was just $55 dollars away from the final bid price. Something they must still be regretting as recent valuations of the car have been as high as $3.2 million.

Imaginary friend

This seems like the seller’s attempt at making something out of nothing. One woman from London had listed her imaginary friend on the auction site, apparently on her psychiatrist’s recommendation. The seller was finally saying goodbye to her imaginary friend, Bernard, and possibly making a buck or two in the process. As an added bonus she wasn’t going to charge any shipping to the successful bidder. While the price is a mystery, another person sold their imaginary friend in 2007 for $2,750.

Grilled cheese

There are many people out there who love grilled cheese sandwiches. The gooey cheese combined with the crunchiness of the toast makes for an incredible culinary combination. This piece of a grilled cheese sandwich bears a resemblance to Mary, the mother of Jesus, which helped gain some serious interest in the toast. The sandwich went for $28,000 in 2004. It was reportedly magical because it had been around for years and hadn’t shown any signs of growing moldy yet.

Pope’s hat

It seems as though goldenpalace.com spent a lot of their time browsing eBay to find strange things to buy. They bought the grilled cheese sandwich previously and the advertising space on the woman’s forehead too. They also bought this Dorito that had formed to look like the Pope’s hat. The tortilla chip sold for $1,209 and the online casino were happy to add the strange item to their growing collection of eccentric artifacts.

The cursed duck

Initially, it may seem as though a rubber duck is a fairly standard purchase on eBay, it is quirky, yet you could still use it if you wanted to. This duck being sold, however, had one quality other rubber ducks couldn’t offer. It was cursed. The duck sold for $107.50 which is incredible when you consider in the description it claimed the duck was capable of possessing children. We’re guessing this duck wasn’t bought by a responsible parent.

Britney’s gum

People can be obsessed with their favorite celebrities and will do almost anything to get closer to them. One eBay seller somehow came into possession of pop star Britney Spears’ used chewing gum, and, instead of throwing it in the trash, decided they would sell it to anyone willing to pay good money for it. This piece of chewed gum actually sold for a remarkable $14,000. We aren’t sure what the person did with it as it’s not something you’d invite people over to come and look at.